Schierke became a municipality in its own right in 1924. After World War II, however, due to its location next to the inner German border, Schierke for a long time was not accessible to the public for winter sports. Visits required an extra permission by East German authorities between 1952 and 1989. Several hotels were converted into public holiday resorts of the Free German Trade Union Federation (FDGB) and of the Stasi ministry. Barracks for the Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic stood on the site of the present training centre for engineering and metallurgy. The 7th Border Company of the 20th Border Regiment guarded the stretch of border from the Brocken plateau via former Goetheweg station and the Dreieckiger Pfahl border stone (checkpoint no. 168 in the Harzer Wandernadel) to the Großer Winterberg. Each troop was stationed for a week at a time in the present-day station building on the peak of the Brocken. After German reunification, tourism again prospered and many villas were restored. On 13 January 2009 Mayor Hans-Jochen Ermisch, and his counterpart from Wernigerode, Peter Gaffert, signed the treaty incorporating Schierke into Wernigerode. This merger came into effect on 1 July 2009. Since then, the Wernigerode town council has made comprehensive efforts to develop Schierke as a resort town. Politics Coat of arms The coat of arms was granted to Schierke on 5 May 1939 by the governor (Oberpräsident) of the Province of Saxony. Emblazonment: "On a field or, a stag's skull and antlers sable" ("In gold ein schwarzer Hirsch-Schädel mit Geweih im Visier"). The stag's antlers epitomize the "King of the Harz Forest", the dominant wild animal in the mountain forests around Schierke. Just as the antlers are the crown of the deer, Schierke, on the Brocken, "crowns" the Harz landscape with its natural beauty and its healing climate. The coat of arms was designed by the head of the Magdeburg state archives, Otto Korn. Memorials Grave site on the village cemetery (Ortsfriedhof) for an unknown Rumanian, who was a victim of forced labour during the Second World War. Places of interest Brocken, highest mountain in the Harz, accessible daily on the Brocken Railway Wurmberg, highest mountain in Lower Saxony Feuersteinklippen crags Schnarcherklippen crags "Apotheke zum Roten Fingerhut" – "Red Thimble" chemist's Schierke Mountain Church (Schierker Bergkirche) Sport and hiking The area around Schierke is criss-crossed by numerous trails, several leading up to the